2013 Alum Chine tram crash
The '''2013 Alum Chine tram crash '''occurred at 1554 local time on 3 March 2013, when two trams collided on Stewart Street, northern Alum Chine, Leeds, on part of the Island Tramway. 35 people were injured, seven of which seriously; as well as this, the driver of one tram later died in hospital. The collision is thought to have occurred after one tram passed a signal at danger. Vehicles involved The tram which was hit from behind was tram number 90. Tram 90 is one of two prototype trial trams that were supposed to run on the Island Tramway. They were built by Alstom as part of their Citadis family. However, following their introduction in 2011, they proved to be unreliable and troublesome. Tram 91 was withdrawn following a small fire in the depot on 17 November 2012, and subsequently sold on to the Szczecin tramway in Poland. Tram 90, the one involved in the accident, was formally withdrawn permanently from service on 4 March, the day after the accident. It was later also sold to Szczecin tramway, and trams 90 and 91 were shipped to Poland on 7 March. The other tram involved was tram number 22. Tram 22 is one of fifteen Siemens TS trams that Island Tramway own. They were introduced in 2002, with the opening of the second line, and consist of three articulated sections. These trams have proven to be reliable, with only a few minor incidents causing any one of them to be off fleet at any time. Following the accident, Tram 22 was sent back to Siemens in Germany for repair work, being shipped to Germany on 7 March. Accident At 1554 local time on 3 March 2013, the 1553 departure from the previous station, Stewart Street, and the heavily delayed 1543 departure from the same station, collided on Stewart Street. The 1543, operated by Tram 22, was running ten minutes late due to a points failure further down the line. In the driver's rush to make up time, he is believed to have passed a signal at danger by accident. The tram's warning systems had been switched off by the driver on the authorisation of the depot in order to use the wrong line to pass the broken points; however, he had forgotten to switch it back on when he continued normal running. As a result, Tram 22 collided into the rear end of stationary Tram 90 at a speed of 40mph, which is the maximum speed for the road and tram line. The driver of 22 sounded the horn but failed to slow down his tram at all prior to the collision, due to his late sighting of the other tram ahead in heavy fog. The collision caused Tram 22 to stop almost immediately in it's place, with the front section and part of the middle section becoming derailed. As well as severe front end damage, there was severe damage to the underside of the tram, and the pantograph which had been wripped off the electricity pick-up wire when the tram derailed. Tram 90 was jolted forwards considerably, and stopped 20 metres further down the road on the junction with Birch Street. It suffered severe rear end damage although did not derail and only suffered minor damage elsewhere. There was also severe damage to the road surface, tram rails, and overhead line equipment (OHLE), which provides trams with electricity to run. The driver of Tram 22 was seriously injured and later died in hospital. Three passengers on Tram 22 and two on Tram 90 were seriously injured, plus the conductor of both trams. 35 people on board both trams suffered minor injuries. Aftermath The line remained suspended between Stewart Street and Arowana Peninsula stations from 3 March until it's partial re-opening on 7 March, after recovery, investigation, and repair work had taken place. The road itself which the trams run on opened on 7 March as well.